


Intensity

by malecwrites



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, YouTuber Magnus Bane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-14 15:00:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15391308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malecwrites/pseuds/malecwrites
Summary: HUMAN AUMagnus is Alec's favourite YouTuber, TheHighWarlock. What happens when Alec gets a job at a club that Magnus has connections to and is partial to visiting...?*could contain some spoilers later on for the books*Rating M because of language and I can never be too sure for further on in the story.





	1. Chapter 1

Sure, Alec’s choice of location for his new flat may have been somewhat influenced by the fact that his favourite YouTuber – _TheHighWarlock –_ lived at one place or another within the area… But Alec was a realistic type of guy. He figured that there was less than 0.1 per cent chance of even glimpsing them. Anyway, there were responsibilities that Alec could not neglect.

He had a couple of jobs now. By some miracle he’d got a job as a Barista in a local café. This meant that he only had to walk down the street to reach it, which was ideal. He’d also gone and bagged a Friday night shift at the club _Intensity_. At first Alec had felt uncomfortable walking in to the club for his interview, however the boss (“Mr Fell, but you can call me Ragnor”) was very welcoming and friendly. Besides, Alec needed the extra money.

Alec had also to make certain that his new home was a place Jace and Izzy could visit easily. Seen as they were both too young to move out, he wanted them to have a relaxed environment they could escape to, when life with their parents took its toll. Being in the Lightwood family house was not a desirable thing for any of them, after all the problems they’d had finally caused rifts between everybody. In many ways Alec was thankful for having the opportunity to move out because of his age.

The ‘Institute’ – as everyone called it – was a grand thing. From the outside it was a beautiful carved structure of architecture, perfect to the eye. Bare stone walls and marbled floors lined the interior of the building, with high ceilings and arching stairways that swept to the upper floors. It was the same throughout. Most people would’ve gasped at the carefully constructed rooms and posh décor. It was a house many would give up everything to live in…If only they knew what it was like for the Lightwood children.

Alec had never been able to seek comfort by sitting and soaking up the warmth of a cosy fireplace on a comfy sofa in a carpeted room with a homely red rug on the floor. Nope, Alec had certainly never gotten the pleasure of playing family games one Saturday night, or having a movie marathon with everybody gathered around the TV, and having to complain about Jace stealing his popcorn whilst his Mother hushed them both in fear of missing an important part.

All Alec knew was the hard face of stone, married with the unfeeling tiled floors which caused an echo that haunted the whole of the building whenever somebody was bold enough to move out from the suffocating silence. The clinical feel of his bedroom, bearing only the essentials. He’d grown up with coldness of the ‘Institute’ being reflected in his parents’ actions towards him.

Ever since Alec was young, Robert and Maryse Lightwood had rarely been seen together. They would shut themselves into separate offices and not come out for hours. The living room was left empty, like a barren wasteland that eventually even Alec dared not enter, the hopes of a loving and secure environment rotting along with it. 

It had not always been that way. Alec could remember a time where his parents were exciting and enthusiastic. He ached for the times where his Father would put him on his shoulders and run around the fields with him, laughing joyously. Alec longed for the memories of baking with his Mother, hoping to see her carefree smile once again. To see…

Then things went wrong.

He couldn’t blame his parents completely. They went through a lot, and they struggled with it. But so did Alec himself, along with his siblings. It wasn’t easy on any of them.

* * *

 

“MAGNUS FUCKING BANE, GET YOUR SLY BOOTY IN HERE RIGHT NOW!” Ragnor Fell bellowed as he sat himself down on the sofa in Magnus’s apartment. As one of Magnus’ closest friends, Ragnor owned a key to the place, but of course he’d needed to make his presence known because Magnus seemed to be too preoccupied by singing in his bathroom. Ragnor had winced at the off tune ‘hit me baby’ when he’d walked into the place. He figured it was most likely that Chairman Meow had been scared senseless, because the poor cat was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s wrong, sweat pea?” Entering into the room, Magnus already had a vague idea of why Ragnor had turned up at that precise moment. However, it was fun to play the innocent. How Magnus did enjoy it when Ragnor became infuriated, and it was so easy to get his best friend wound up.

“You know what. I told you that in fucking confidence Magnus, you shit. You weren’t meant to tell him, he wasn’t supposed to find out. Ever” Ragnor replied with a weary sigh.

“Kindly refrain from such insult ridden profanities in my own home, you know how I hate such words,” Magnus smirked as he watched his friend’s face. Both of them had witnessed enough to understand that Magnus wasn’t impartial to a good swearing session. Yet, Ragnor made no indication to speak so Magnus decided it was time to explain.

“My dear little cabbage, I had to take matters into my own hands! It was too painful watching you both stare at each other so longingly and not make any moves. In the end I couldn’t bare it, and let something slip to Raphael.” When Ragnor stayed silent, Magnus continued.

“I promise that I wouldn’t have said a word if it wasn’t so blatantly obvious that he’s in love with you too, biscuit.”

At that Ragnor looked up, startled. It was clear he’d not caught the signs of Raphael’s mutual feelings, and that they would be so strong.

“You really think he- that he loves me?”

“Yes.” The answer was simple for Magnus. He knew of Raphael’s emotions towards Ragnor. Mostly because Raphael had drunkenly called him one night asking which flowers were Ragnor’s favourite and _‘if he ever had a chance in hell of going out with him, because that guy made his heart flutter like a squadron of butterflies or whatever the technical term was’._ But Magnus liked to think he’d sussed out Raphael without that, so he ignored the amount of shock and happiness for his friend that he’d felt listening to the ramblings of a drunkard through the phone.

Ragnor smiled softly at Magnus's words, his eyes glazing over in a dewy haze. He looked Magnus in the eyes and stated coyly, "Good. He'd better do since I'm the best and only boyfriend he's ever going to get from now till forever."

"Oh Ragnor my buttercup, I'm so pleased for you both! Shall we have a drink to celebrate your newly happy coupling?"

"Yeah, I think we should." The voiced agreement from Ragnor wouldn't have made a difference, because Magnus had already produced two glasses of red wine from a cupboard. He knew it was a favourite of Ragnor's, as sometimes 'even people friends with Prattling Fools enjoyed the feeling of being classy once in a while'.

"I actually came here to thank you, Raphael told me what you'd said, but I had to catch your attention somehow and then you started apologising. I rarely get an apology from The-oh so mighty-HighWarlock, I couldn't find it within my heart to stop you!"

“Pft, how rude. I'm offended. You know I can't be called anything but The-oh so mighty, dashingly handsome and magnificent-HighWarlock" This ensued a bout of laughter from the two and Magnus wondered whether some people would actually take him seriously and ever contemplate saying that as a way of addressing him.

A number of hours and a few drinks later, Ragnor decided he really should get back to Raphael and make the most of their night. Before leaving, just as he reached the doorway, he turned to Magnus.

"You really should pop by my club one Friday evening soon, I have a funny feeling that you'd enjoy it even more than you usually do. I'm thinking you'll definitely appreciate some new features." With that Ragnor winked, and exited the apartment having thoroughly spiked Magnus's interest.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a Friday. Almost a week had passed since Raphael and Ragnor had embarked on their pathway into a relationship and Magnus needed a night out. He just needed the fun. No, Magnus was definitely not just going to _Intensity_ that evening because he was curious about the ‘new features’ (personally he was hoping for rainbow coloured walls with gold furnishings, and had never understood why Ragnor was so insistent that he was not allowed to have any input into the interior). Every one of Magnus’s subscribers thought he was a party animal anyway - and it wasn’t like they were wrong - so why not live up to his status?

 _I’m sure you shall be pleased to know that I will be giving your club my custom tonight I hope everyone has been trained to bow at my feet – Magnus the Mighty_ _;)_

**I WAS HOPING FOR THAT! I’ll be there a while before it opens, get there at half 9, I’ll let you in a couple of hours early so we can catch up**

**ALSO YOU REALLY NEED TO FIND SOME MODESTY SOON OR I SWEAR YOUR HEAD WILL EXPLODE – Ragnor the Remarkable**

_Remarkable? That was the best you could come up with?_

_Also thank you my lovely, it’s been too long!_  

Magnus knew full well that he had only seen Ragnor the previous weekend. Alas, he enjoyed adding a flair of drama to everything, it was just who he was.

_I’ll bring Catarina and Tessa along :*_

**…Yes it was, don’t judge me.**

Magnus snorted and then looked at the clock. He gasped in horror. It was five, he only had about three hours to get ready. After sending messages to both Catarina and Tessa and receiving their confirmation, he decided to take a shower.

* * *

 

Alec had been told he needed to get to _Intensity_ by nine to go through an induction that was mandatory for every employee of Mr Fell’s before they began work. So, naturally Alec had arrived at the venue with twenty minutes to spare and had taken to leaning on one of its walls outside.

As he had plenty of time, Alec unlocked his phone and noticed that _TheHighWarlock_ had tweeted a photo of themselves dressed up and with their best friends. Alec smiled to himself, he wondered how whatever fancy party the YouTuber was going to tonight would compare to the place Alec was about to start working in. He hoped that there would be footage of their night in the next video, because he enjoyed watching them be so carefree, it always humoured him. Whenever there was something that made him feel low, pulling up one of _TheHighWarlock’s_ party vlogs would instantly lighten his spirits.

With that thought in mind, Alec opened the YouTube app and searched for his favourite vlog. However, he was only two minutes into it when someone arrived and started fiddling with the shutter over the door. A glance in their direction and Alec realised it was Mr Fell. Blushing, Alec quickly shut the app down, pocketed his phone and straightened his posture.

Just as he did so, Mr Fell noticed him.

“Oh hey Alec, how are you? I do hope you haven’t been stood out there for long, we’re still a few minutes early but since you’re here we might as well get started!”

Alec struggled to answer for a moment because of his nerves. “I’m okay, thank you Mr Fell, and yourself?”

“I’m fabulous thank you darling, don’t be afraid to call me Ragnor, I don’t bite.” Mr Fell then proceeded to mumble something along the lines of ‘Unfortunately Raphael has the tendency to…’ as he walked through the door but Alec thought it best not to question that. Instead he followed his new boss inside as the lights turned on.

He was taken on a tour of the building as the beginning of his induction. There was a staff room littered with monochrome furnishings, one black couch and two white chairs, all of them leather. There was a television with the newest play station as well as some video games piled up on the floor next to it. Alec noticed the latest version of a game that he loved and hoped he would have the time to try out at some point. His hopes were dashed however, when Ragnor followed his gaze.

“You’ll be lucky if you’re allowed to play with that. It’s one of my closest friend’s. Instead of keeping it at his own home, he’s intent that it stays here, yet he won’t even let me play it! I’m surprised I’ve let him get away with it for this long!” Even though Alec was disappointed he found some relief in the fact that his boss could be that soft with somebody. Alec decided that if he stayed on the right side of Mr Fell then this job may actually be enjoyable.

The staff room then led into a small kitchen, a table was placed in the centre surrounded by translucent plastic chairs of different colours. He was led back into the staff room and through another door into a VIP lounge. It was decorated so beautifully, with red and gold that reminded him of a Gryffindor theme and Alec vaguely recognised it but he wasn’t sure where from. This room definitely fit with the notion of VIPs but he wondered who on earth Mr Fell would class as one.

“At some points you may be required to work in this room, I am sure this will not be an issue for you as it is just the same job as on the main bar. Although if you work in this room you may be alone depending on the staffing shifts, and also be aware that some of the custom in this room can get a little ruder than you would expect. A lot of them feel that they are big names and should be treated like princes and princesses.” This was okay with Alec, he didn’t mind any of that and he had never cracked under pressure before.

The tour ended after Alec had seen the main bar that he would serve at. The space was massive and the bar looked very modern, it even had neon lights that changed colour every so often. Though it looked intimidating at first, Alec was sure he would get used to working there.

Mr Fell looked at his watch and his expression turned to one of horror. Alec was about to ask what was wrong, when he turned and said, “Goodness me, we’ve spent half an hour on the tour! Where did the time go? I was going to introduce you to everybody but I have to go and meet my friends at the door, I told them that I would let them in a couple of hours earlier to have a catch up. Very unprofessional of me, I am sorry Alec. I am going to leave you in the capable hands of Simon who will show you everything else. Go to the staff room for a while, grab something to eat and a drink. I will tell him to meet you there when he gets here.”

“Okay, thank you Mr Fell.” Alec didn’t mind having some time alone after the tour. He enjoyed being alone, it was peaceful. Besides, it gave him time to watch the rest of that vlog.


	3. Chapter 3

Two hours later and it was opening time. Alec was trying his best to cover up his nerves. He’d just learnt all the basics of what it was like to serve behind a bar and to be quite honest, Alec felt like he’d been put in the deep end of a pool without being taught how to swim. Everything Simon had said felt like a blur, as if his co-worker had been talking and demonstrating things at the speed of light just so that Alec was left feeling overwhelmed and muddled.  However, he was thankful because Simon would be with him all shift.

Alec had been reassured that if anything went wrong then Simon would be there to help him sort it out. He got along with Simon quite well already and found that the fellow employee was quite humorous and a massive nerd, (which had been realised by Alec when Simon made three comic book jokes in a row that then had to be explained to him. As well as the fact that Simon had introduced himself as “I’m Simon, the World’s Geekiest Geek, and I’ll be your mentor for today.”). Maybe Alec didn’t like Simon’s nickname for him, but he was grateful that the guy was so friendly towards him, it made him feel less worried about the prospect of starting his first ever shift in a night club what was in store.

“Don’t look so scared Newbie, it’s alright most of ‘em are too drunk to remember what they ordered and how it should be made anyway.” Which if Alec was honest, did nothing to calm him down. “If someone asks for a complicated drink that I haven’t shown you yet then wait for me and I’ll show you what you need to do. Other than that, you should be okay Newbie, if you get stuck there’s a list of what ingredients go in which drinks but most of it is common sense.”

With that the door was opened by Ragnor and Alec’s mind whispered, _let the madness begin…_

* * *

 

Magnus was having such a great time hanging out with Ragnor and his friends that he almost forgot to vlog what was happening. Tessa had to remind him that if Magnus wanted a new video up by the end of the week then he should probably get his camera out for a while. Ragnor was okay with Magnus vlogging in his club, but Ragnor himself had never wanted to be in the footage and Magnus had respected this.

“Hey guys, guess who I’m with today!” Magnus turned his camera to face Catarina and Tessa. “That’s right, I’m out with these lot of losers!” Tessa frowned at the camera in a jokey way as if to seem offended, while Catarina made peace signs with her hands.

“We are out and ready to PARTAYYY!!”

“For goodness sake, did you have to shout that loud? You nearly burst my eardrums.” Tessa laughed as Catarina covered her ears dramatically.

“Yes darling I did, and do you know why? CAUSE IM READY TO PARTAYYY!”

“FUCK YOU.” This earned a snort from Magnus, who raised his cocktail in the air and winked towards the camera, before stopping the recording.

The group were sat in a corner of the VIP suite, as Ragnor insisted they go there instead of staying in the staff room as ‘he’d just cleaned up and Magnus was sure to ruin all his hard work because of the amount of glitter he had on’, but for some reason Ragnor didn’t care about getting glitter in the VIP lounge.

Magnus thought something fishy was going on.

Unfortunately he had no more time to think about this, as opening time had arrived and Ragnor rushed to open the door.

As soon as the music began to play, Magnus decided to make a beeline for the main bar area. Ragnor had told the group that the VIP room was free if they wanted to stay there, but Magnus was curious. He wanted to know what had changed since the last time he had been to _Intensity._

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. He was there to have a good time. The upbeat music and the carefree dancing and the smiling people, gave him the best feeling. For Magnus, he felt as if nothing could ever compare to being at the centre of the action, watching everyone let go and enjoy themselves.

So, Tessa, Catarina and Magnus entered the focal point of the club. Already it was full of energy and life. Magnus had to give Ragnor credit, because the club was certainly a popular one.

“Are you going to finish that? I’m off up to the bar and I’ll get you another.” Catarina pointedly looked at the drink in Magnus’s hand. In one swift motion, Magnus raised the glass to his lips and downed the rest of the alcohol.

“No need to be cheeky, darling, but I would highly appreciate a new drink.”

Catarina was about to leave when she noticed Tessa’s wide eyes and quick shake of the head. Turning to follow Tessa’s gaze, Catarina surveyed the bar area. When she looked back at Magnus her face held the same expression as Tessa. Fortunately, Magnus had yet to notice as he was too caught up in swaying to the song.

“Actually maybe you should go up? Tessa and I want to dance.” Before Magnus could protest, his two friends had pushed past and disappeared into the midst of the crowd. Shrugging his shoulders and rolling his eyes theatrically, Magnus made his way over to the bar.

He stopped in his tracks, however, when he caught sight of an employee.

Behind the bar, making a drink for a customer, face lit up by the changing colours of the lights, was the most striking figure Magnus had ever set eyes upon. He was tall and muscly, with a well-defined jaw, hair as black as charcoal and his eyes shone brightly as if full of life _(which was definitely not just because the lights were reflecting in them)._

Magnus was pretty sure he’d never seen the man before.

If he had, there was no way in hell he would have forgotten about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Once Magnus came to his senses he practically sprinted to the bar, with no plan but to try and talk to the handsome new bar tender. There was definitely a twelve out of ten chance that Magnus would try his hand at some flirting, it worked pretty much every time, and he was confident enough to assume that this time would be no different.

He reached the bar, and his quest began. Simon, the normal server was there but he knowingly moved out of the way and busied himself with a trivial task. Magnus was finally able to get a closer look at the angel-like creature in front of him. No doubt about it, Magnus felt as though his heart would fly away when the person turned to look at him. Giving him their full attention.

Up close there was so much more to the figure. Magnus noticed a set of full lips, thick eyebrows and messy short hair. When the employee smiled at him, ready to take his order, Magnus saw cute little dimples that in no way should have been allowed to exist because Magnus found it difficult to tear his gaze away from them. But when he did, he wasn’t disappointed because they both locked eyes.

Wow. Those eyes stopped time. They were blue. But not like he’d ever seen before.

Yes, Magnus had always found blue eyes so much more mesmerising than any others, but these were in a league of their own. It was as though he was swimming in a pool of different hues that merged together to create an ocean.

He was snapped out of this when he realised that the person had been speaking to him.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” The voice sounded smoky, yet soft-spoken. Magnus thought it was quite apt and made the speaker even more attractive.

“Oops sorry beautiful, I got caught up in your face for a second there. Terribly rude of me, but I just couldn’t stop myself from staring. You are quite something.” Magnus couldn’t stop himself from blurting out his mind. Part of that may have been the alcohol, however, he usually did tell people what he thought of them.

He watched as the man in front of him blushed and started to stutter, eyes widening, and waited hesitantly, not knowing if he had been recognised. _Oh God please don’t let him know who I am,_ Magnus was practically pleading in his head when he noticed that the man in front of him had been speaking.

“Excuse me… Sir?” Magnus indicated he was now listening with a nod of his head. “W-What drink would you like?”

“Is sex on the beach up for grabs darling?” With a smirk, Magnus praised his ability to regain composure so quickly. Unfortunately, this caused the beautiful man behind the bar to go into shock.

“Erm… I-I…” The man glanced over to Simon with a scared expression. Simon who had turned towards the man after he had finished serving a customer, saw the horror in the other’s face and decided to step in to serve Magnus himself. Magnus watched Simon as he leaned in to talk to the guy, and felt a hint of jealousy at them interacting with ease - noticing the way Simon got so close to him.

The other bar tender stumbled backwards and practically ran to the other end of the bar, to a woman waiting there. Sighing, Magnus ordered three different cocktails and with one last look at the hunk of a man giving the woman her drink, he walked away to find his friends. _Hopefully I’ll forget him in the morning, like I usually do;_ somehow he doubted that this one would be the same as all the rest.


	5. Chapter 5

Alec’s first shift was over and now he had to walk home. He was grumpy. All he could think about was his bed.

It hadn’t been too bad though, he had been prepared for hell and even though it had been stressful, it was a lot better than he had expected. The people there were so nice and friendly, and so far he hadn’t encountered any difficult customers… except the embarrassing encounter with the man who he’d misidentified as _TheHighWarlock_ in all the confusion, but later on Alec just concluded that he had been hallucinating. There was no way that he could have met his favourite YouTuber and then acted the way he did, it was just not possible. The only way that Alec could ever meet _TheHighWarlock_ would be at a convention where he would queue up and wait his turn like everybody else.

Alec pondered on how his life would have been different without YouTube. _TheHighWarlock_ among others had saved him from a life of lies and misery, he hoped to someday tell them what it meant to him, but he knew that he was one in the thousands of others who had been affected in one way or another.

Walking into his flat, Alec slipped off his shoes and coat and put them away. He got out his phone and replied to the texts from his siblings that had wished him good luck, then switched it to silent as he didn’t want to be disturbed if either of them texted again.

It was now five o’clock in the morning and Alec decided he needed to sleep soon. He didn’t have a shift at the café till Sunday so he had time to recover from his tiredness. Getting into bed, Alec was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

 

Magnus awoke on his couch with a familiar feeling of a hangover. He groaned and rolled over onto the floor, nearly squashing someone in the process. Startled, he stood up far too quickly and regretted his actions immediately.

Rushing to the kitchen Magnus shouted a quick ‘Sorry’ at the lump on his living room floor, before getting a glass of water and some painkillers. Gulping them down, Magnus then returned to the scene he had just left. The person had sat up and he realised he’d fallen on to Tessa who was sat up, looking dishevelled with her hair strewn in different directions.

“Did you really have to jump on me to wake me up?” Tessa said when she caught sight of him.

“My apologies dear, at least I didn’t throw water over you this time.” He smiled smugly at her.

“You do that again and I will castrate you.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

“Hmm, you should be.” Tessa glared at Magnus so he put his hands up in surrender, which gained him a laugh. With that she got up and went to the bathroom to freshen up, whilst Magnus sat down next to Chairman Meow.

“Meow,” The cat looked up at him with those clever green eyes.

“I know, I know Chairman, I’m screwed.”

“Mew,” Magnus gasped, he was being mocked by his own pet.

“Oi, don’t say that you little shit. I can’t help it okay? We can’t all have a heart of stone,” He put his arm up to his forehead, for the dramatic effect. “I just keep thinking about him Chairman, what am I going to do? It’s making me crazy and I don’t even know him.”

Chairman Meow continued to stare at his owner for another few seconds before meowing for a third time, in a way that Magnus interpreted as a mocking laugh, and then strutting off towards the direction of his food bowl.

Tessa re-entered the room a few minutes later in a change of clothes.

“Do you want to stay for a bit, we could watch some trashy TV and nurse our hangovers together?” He looked over to her hopefully.

“I can stay for a while,” she smiled at him, knowing he didn’t like to be left alone when he felt ill and that he wanted an excuse to put off editing his vlog for a while. “But I promised Jem I would meet him for lunch at one o’clock so I will have to go earlier than I usually would.”

“Okay my little vegetable, in the meantime how do you feel about some Project Runway?”


	6. Chapter 6

It was noon on Sunday and Magnus had until five o’clock in the evening to finish editing his new vlog and upload it to YouTube. He was cutting it close, he knew that to get the quality in his videos the editing would sometimes take up an entire day. But he had a schedule that he had to keep to, and Magnus didn’t like to deviate from it, he couldn’t disappoint his audience like that.

There was no more time to waste, but staring at the walls in his home were not motivating him to get started at all. In times like this Magnus needed a coffee, and not just the brand in his cupboard. He needed a fancier coffee than that and maybe even a cheeky cookie, like the ones from his local café, where he could sit and work whilst watching the world go by. Magnus’s energy fed off the hustle and bustle of the general public going about their business.

So he packed up everything that was needed and went on his way.

* * *

 

Alec was working until closing time at six o’clock in _The Revolution Café._ He had worked there for two weeks now and was already trusted enough to not need assistance during the quieter hours. At the moment though, the place was busier than any other time of day because it was lunchtime, (and if he did say so himself, he understood why because the grilled cheese from this café was the best he had ever tasted) so he was with another employee called Conan, whom he did not know very well yet.

 _The Revolution Café_ was a comforting place to Alec. He loved it. Gray walls lined the whole of the two floors, decorated with plenty of paintings and pictures to study, – Alec’s favourite picture was that of a boat tied up in the shore against a backdrop of purples, oranges, reds and yellows. He didn’t know why he was drawn to it so much but he guessed it was just because the mix of vibrancy against the shadow of the boat gave it such a beautiful contrast - and there were wooden chairs, as well as brown leather sofas, that surrounded tables of all shapes and sizes. The doorbell was constantly chiming as it opened and closed signalling a new customer or the departure of one.

“Hello and welcome to _The Revolution Café,_ ” Alec started as he heard the footsteps of a new customer approaching the counter, while wiping up a spill that another customer had just made when taking their drink away. “What can I g…” He trailed off, having looked towards the face of the person.

“Well, hello darling,” the person said, drawing out the ‘r’ on the last word. Alec stood stock still, frozen to the spot unable to move although he could feel a heat rising to his face. There was no mistaking it like he had at _Intensity_ , this was _TheHighWarlock_ , right there in front of him. How was this possible? What was going on?

“This is a nice surprise.” Smiling at him _TheHighWarlock_ continued seemingly unaware that Alec was in shock. “I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I remember you.” They winked at Alec, who was unable to speak. _What did they mean by that? Alec had never met them, he’d just imagined it in the club on Friday._

“Um… I,” Alec tried.

“It’s okay, I understand, my dashingly good looks have stopped you in your tracks. I can’t help it dear, it’s just how the world works.” They sighed deeply, as if to try and communicate how difficult it was to be so perfect. Winking again _TheHighWarlock_ carried on. “Although you must understand seen as you’re so hot I feel like I could melt into a puddle right here, right now.”

Inside his head Alec was freaking out, his brain was spinning in a million different directions. He didn’t know what to do, or what to say. The moment felt surreal, as if he was in an amazing dream that he never wanted to end. _You need to pull yourself together Alec, he just wants to be served like a normal human being – because that’s all he is. Surely he doesn’t want to be bugged by another fan when he’s trying to order._ And with that thought, Alec decided that he needed to ignore how he was feeling and focus on interacting with this customer exactly how he would with any other. Plastering a smile on his face and pushing the voice in his mind that wanted to say a billion things aside, Alec started again.

“What can I get for you?” He was surprised about how composed his tone sounded when speaking, seen as he had been lost for words a few seconds ago.

“Can I have a caramel macchiato and two double chocolate cookies please?”

“Coming right up,” Alec said, then telling them the price.

“Thank you…” There was a pause as _TheHighWarlock_ handed over their money to Alec and their eyes moved to Alec’s name tag. “…Alexander.”

Alec smiled, concealing his emotions, as _TheHighWarlock_ moved away to the designated area, waiting for their drinks as Alec handed over the order for Conan to complete. He tried to ignore the feeling that he was being stared at whilst he took a deep breath and returned to work, serving the newest customer in the small queue that had started to form during the previous interaction that Alec had just experienced.

After the queue had gone in front of the café counter, Alec turned to Conan.

“I’m just going to the restroom, back in a sec.”

“Okay man, ooh and before I forget, that customer with the velvet blazer on told me that one of his double chocolate cookies was for ‘The Handsome Piece of Booty at the tills’.” Conan used air quotes with his hands to show that those were most certainly not his own words. “If you ask me I think someone has a crush on you.”

“Thanks Conan, but I don’t think so they probably just ordered an extra cookie by accident.” Alec smiled at his colleague and then headed to the staff toilets in hopes that he could calm his churned up-confused-self down by spending a minute or two alone.

This did not work however, and Alec felt as dumbfounded as the moment he had set eyes on _TheHighWarlock_. He completed the rest of his working day in a daze, trying to avoid looking towards the table where _they_ sat until _they_ were gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Of course Magnus had been shocked to see the bartender in _The Revolution Café._ It was the least likely second meeting. Especially since Magnus had concluded that the only way to see him again would be to visit Ragnor’s club every night until they met once again (and he was more than willing to do so).

There had been plenty of moments in the hours between Friday and Sunday that Magnus had considered asking Ragnor for the new employee’s address or phone number. However, even though he was a dramatic sod, even Magnus thought that was a little bit too stalker-ish and would probably scare the person off before they got chance to converse properly. So, when he’d walked in to the café, he felt as though Christmas had come early.

It was such a stroke of luck that Magnus wasn’t entirely convinced that the whole situation was real. There was a huge probability that he had made an entire 3D realistic replica of the man he had seen and then imagined him as the worker behind the counter, when in actual fact he could have been flirting with any one – hell maybe he’d been chatting up a coffee machine, then the worker in _The Revolution Café_ that was taking his order had just pretended it was a normal occurrence and not said anything.

“It was so odd Cat, I was giving it my best and he was oblivious to my intentions. Seemed embarrassed at the fact that he had to talk to such a moron like me, more than wanting to jump me after two seconds. I don’t know what I did wrong.” Magnus paused for effect. He could hear Catarina’s sympathetic hum of acknowledgement crackling through the crappy reception on the house phone. “I think I’m losing my charm. How am I meant to find a normal guy if I can’t even flirt anymore?”

“Mags, you’re not losing it. You’re the most charming guy I know! Have faith in yourself, you know you can do it! I believe in you.”

“I’m just so intimidated by him, Cat.”

“What do you mean by that? You aren’t afraid of anyone or anything,” His friend’s confusion was evident in the way she spoke.

“The aura he gives,” Magnus gestured wildly with his free arm as if to find the right words for explaining what he meant, but nothing was coming to him so he started again. “I, I think I’ve never met someone who took my breath away just from the sight of them. That worries me. That, and the fact that I’ve glimpsed him twice and now I’m talking as if he affects my whole life. I bet I sound crazy.”

Cat chuckled, which did nothing to console Magnus but he knew she wasn’t jesting him. She cared about his well-being, all of his close friends did. He was glad about that.

“Don’t worry too much yet, you’ve seen this guy twice in a short space of time, I’m sure that’s the reason your mind is making such a big deal out of it. If you remember, you were talking along the same lines about Evan like six months ago. You vowed to stay away from relationships again until you turned fifty after him.”

“Honey, who?” He was joking of course, Magnus had a tendency to obsess over the idea of a person and get completely turned off after a couple of weeks. But they all ended up being so boring. They had no interests, except money. Magnus had so much to say and they just couldn’t hold a conversation with him for more than three minutes without it switching back to YouTube and his view count and ‘how his career was going soooo well he must be earning millions of dollars from it’. He hated it and had promised to wait for years until he found the one that actually cared about something other than his ‘fame’.

“Exactly Mags.”

“Watermelon, I’m hoping Alexander will get out of my head soon or I am going to explode.” 

* * *

 

That was it. Alec was free to go home and after his encounter with his favourite YouTuber, he couldn’t wait to hide himself away in his flat. He would have to tell Izzy as he knew she loved _TheHighWarlock_ too, but it would definitely be less humiliating to keep this to himself and think of them as just another customer to serve throughout his busy day.

His phone went off in his pocket, _speak of the devil_ , Izzy had texted him.

_LOOK AT THW TWITTER NOW ALEC PLS_

**Why?**

_DON’T QUESTION ME_

**Sorry.**

_AND DON’T GET SASSY, JUST DO_

**Okay, okay I am. Give me a minute Iz.**

Loading the app, Alec felt a sense of anticipation. Why was Izzy making him look at the twitter page of the YouTuber who had appeared in _The Revolution Café_? Had they given a rubbish review of his work because of how poor his service had been? Was Alec going to get fired already?

Typing _TheHighWarlock_ into the search bar, Alec felt hesitant of what he would find. He tentatively pressed the button to bring up the results and clicked onto the top page.

The top tweet jumped out at him from a mile away and Alec nearly dropped his phone.

_‘Just had the dreamiest dreamboat take my order @TheRevolution_Café THANKYOU FOR GIVING ME THE PLEASURE OF BEING IN THEIR COMPANY 4 A MINUTE’_

What was going on? Was this some kind of wind up?

Alec wasn’t sure what to think. Once again he was stunned. It took him a while to realise he needed to reply to Izzy. She had sent him five more texts. They read:

_HAVE YOU LOOKED YET????_

_Alllleeecccc_

_Wait, you were working there today_

_OMG DID YOU MEET THEM???????? ARE YOU WHO THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT?_

_ALEC REPLY TO ME_

**Iz please stop. Yes I met them, it hasn’t sunk in yet and no I am not who they are talking about. I can’t be.**

**I made such a fool of myself.**

_Did you take their order?_

That stopped Alec short. He had done. This could not be real. It was all just a dream.

**Yeah.**

_THEN IT IS YOU!_


	8. Chapter 8

The week was dragging on. Alec had got past his initial phase of shock the day after and he now wasn’t sure how he could manage to survive Izzy’s constant nagging. She apparently wanted her older brother to contact _TheHighWarlock_ through his tweet, however, Alec had refused. He didn’t think it was appropriate. Besides, he was happy enough to have met his idol once, it would be greedy to go looking for more opportunities to see them.

Alec knew his place in society and it was fine by him to be a nameless face in the crowd. He didn’t want to be known by anybody except his friends and family. Contacting a famous YouTuber claiming to be the ‘dreamboat’ they had described behind the counter of his workplace would bring unnecessary attention to himself, as well as coming across in such an arrogant manner. And Alec still did not agree that the words were about him anyway.

He would remember Sunday as a once in a lifetime thing, a good event that happened by chance, and he would carry on as normal – because in the grand scheme of his life it didn’t affect anything.

It was now Friday and Alec was heading to work. Although he suspected that he would be at least half an hour early, he thought it would be better to just wait outside so he knew there was no probable chance that he could be late.

Mr Fell had no dress code for his employees, he had told Alec that dark clothes such as Navy colours, Maroons or plain Black would be preferable but if that wasn’t his style he ‘could wear neon for all it mattered’, which Alec did not quite understand but had not bothered to address. So, he was planning on wearing the comfy clothes that he’d picked out of his wardrobe when getting dressed that morning, (all black as usual).

See, Alec had no care for fashion. The clothes he owned were practical and neutral, rarely venturing away from black and blue. He couldn’t be bothered to shop for himself, when he had to he would chose things that he knew would suit him, then there was no need to go into the changing rooms and waste time… His sister hated it. She pulled faces whenever she saw his outfits, and threw a fit if he was wearing a shirt with holes in. He remembered the last argument they had:

_“Alec, you can’t keep walking around like that, it’s offending my fashion sense. I want to cry because that t-shirt is so damn ugly.” Izzy was staring at Alec as if he was an alien._

_“Sorry Iz but I don’t care.”_

_“I can tell, and so can everybody else. If you want to pull someone brother, you’re going to have to start caring soon.”_

_“I don’t want to pull any one!” Alec blushed even at the idea. He wasn’t the sort of person to do that and he was completely fine about it._

Rounding the last corner of his journey at a fast pace, Alec tripped and lost his balance. He looked down and realised he had fallen over someone’s foot.

“I am so sorry,” Alec started, blushing deeply, whilst he attempted to apologise to the figure leaning against the wall.

“Oh don’t you worry dear, it was my fault.”

Alec froze. He knew that voice.

“Oh my, it’s you. The guy I tweeted about! Well, who would have guessed that you’d be wondering around these streets at this time of day? What a coincidence that I happened to be here to protect you.”

“P-Protect me?”

“Yes of course. Anybody as handsome as you can’t be left to walk alone.”

“You’re going to walk… with me?”

“You sweet little burrito, it would be my honour.”

Alec didn’t reply, instead he focused on putting one foot in front of the other without stumbling and tried not to embarrass himself further in any way. After thirty seconds or so Alec turned to the YouTuber.

“Um, thank you, but you can stop now, I’m here… It’s where I work on Fridays” He had never felt as awkward in his entire life as he did in that moment.

 “What a surprise, I was going to pop by here tonight too!”

“R-really?”

“Yes.” They laughed as Alec gave a look of disbelief. “So, are you going to hang about outside in the cold or do you want to join me inside?”

“What are you…” Alec stopped abruptly, as they produced a set of keys and unlocked the padlock on the shutter. “Oh… But y-you’re not Mr Fell.”

“Alexander,” The YouTuber paused and Alec felt a wave of shock as he realised they remembered his name. “Ragnor is a good friend of mine and naturally I pestered him until I got the privilege of owning a set of keys to his business.”

Alec wasn’t sure that was a natural thing to do, but he said nothing.

 _TheHighWarlock_ flicked a switch to turn the lights on and then threw his arm out in a gesture. “After you.”

Once inside Alec didn’t know what to do, so he headed to the kitchen where he placed a bottle of water with his name on and some snacks for his half an hour break in the fridge. He had found that on his first shift he had got unbelievably hungry during the time. Luckily Simon had a spare chocolate bar that he made Alec take from him when he’d mentioned not bringing anything to eat.

Turning around he saw _TheHighWarlock_ had followed him and was standing by the doorway. Alec was trying his best to stay calm.

“I never introduced myself, how silly of me.” The YouTuber walked towards him, hand outstretched. “Magnus Bane.”

Alec stared. He had never known their real name, it was never mentioned in videos or on their social media, and Alec had always respected that. The name ‘Magnus Bane’ suited the person in front of him so perfectly. It was astounding. Just like they were.

“Hi,” Reaching out to shake their hand, Alec was in awe. “Alec Lightwood. No-one really calls me Alexander.” Apart from his parents, but Alec didn’t include them.

“Hmm.” Magnus contemplated this. “Whatever you wish, Alec.”


	9. Chapter 9

Ten minutes later and Alec had visibly relaxed. The person talking to him had the most gorgeous green eyes (which of course he had already stared into on several occasions so he knew their shade perfectly), however the fact that they flickered gold under certain lights at a certain distance had been something Alec was unaware of until now; it had never been caught on camera, and Alec felt extremely lucky that he got to witness the unique way they shined.

They also had brown hair that turned multi-coloured towards the bottom, but Alec only knew that from their recent videos, as they had styled the hair into a messy bun towards the back of their head. They were wearing a Sky blue blazer with a baby pink dress shirt and skinny jeans. It suited them very well.

Mr Fell walked in humming as he rounded the corner, not yet noticing the two in the midst of a conversation.

“Pst,” Magnus whispered. “Thank me for the miracle that made Ragnor so cheerful.” Alec gave Magnus a questioning glance. He was about to ask what they meant, when his boss realised that people were talking.

“Ah Magnus, I thought you’d be skulking around in the VIP lounge as soon as I saw the lights on! You’re lucky I knew you were going to be here tonight or I would’ve called the police again.”

“How did you know when I never told you?” Magnus asked.

“You’re so predictable, Tessa and I knew you’d be back today. You’re not exactly the patient type.” Ragnor chuckled as Magnus wore an offended expression on his face.

“I am the least predictable person you know!” At that both Alec and Ragnor snorted simultaneously. Magnus turned his attention back to Alec who felt his heart flutter the tiniest bit ever… _Okay, maybe it was more than a tiny feeling._ “And I’ll have you know I was invited to the VIP party being held by Mr Chaise tonight.”

“Yeah, but you turned it down because you said –and I quote – ‘don’t like the moron’.”

 “Not the point, I changed my mind. Anyway, you don’t even know how unpredictable I am, I live life on the edge of danger. How predictable does that sound, eh?”

“Alec, don’t be fooled,” Ragnor spoke up so Alec didn’t have to answer. “The most dangerous thing Magnus Bane has ever gotten close to doing is not watching the new episode of Project Runway at the exact time it is shown on the T.V.”

Magnus huffed and began to try and defend himself, but Ragnor waved him off and addressed Alec once again.

“You’re on the main bar with Simon again, Alec. You have about thirty minutes till you need to go.”

That was fine with Alec, he’d liked working with Simon – even though he was annoying as hell. Magnus however, pouted at Ragnor.

“But Ragnor,” Magnus whined. “Who’s going to be serving in the VIP lounge?”

At this, Alec’s interest spiked. The VIP lounge had intrigued him since he had seen it.

“Rosie and Raphael.”

“Raaagggnooor…”

“What?” Ragnor looked like he was trying not to laugh.

“Alexander and I have only just got talking, don’t you think it would be rude if we couldn’t find out more about each other?” Magnus said. Upon hearing this, Alec tried not to act too interested in the insinuation that _TheHighWarlock_ wanted to _GET TO KNOW HIM. HIM, ALEC LIGHTWOOD._

“I’m sure Rosie and Raphael won’t mind if Simon and Alexander swapped with them…”

“Magnus, you’ll be the death of me I swear. Alright, I’ll talk to them and see what they say, but no guarantees.” Ragnor sighed and shook his head, rolling his eyes in the process.

“Thank you my dinky doo.” With that Magnus beamed and Ragnor disappeared in hopes of finding Raphael in time. Alec decided to speak up.

“B-But I might not be any good in the VIP lounge, I’ve only worked once here.”

“Don’t worry you cute little pear, its good experience for you. It’s exactly like the main bar but with less people and a fancier room. Simon will help you. Besides, I’ll be there.” Magnus winked, leaving Alec with another fluttering feeling that he tried to squash back down into his chest.

* * *

 

Magnus was having the time of his life. Flirting with Alexander was the most fun he’d had in a long, long time. He’d manipulated Ragnor into making Alec work in the VIP section as it gave him more opportunities, it was less crowded and the music was usually a tad quieter so that people could talk without having to shout at the other.

Simon and Alec had been working at the bar for about an hour and Magnus had already been up to the bar three times. Each time in an attempt to engage Alec in another conversation, and each time failing as another person had always queued up behind him, leaving Magnus no choice but to let the man get on with his job.

Downing his very sophisticated glass of wine, Magnus decided that this time would be the one. He would push anyone who dared to get in between himself and Alexander Lightwood out of his way.

“Alexander darling! How is the VIP lounge suiting you?”

“Um… Still as okay as when you asked five minutes ago?” Magnus watched as Alec adorably flushed, seemingly uncertain of his answer, as if Magnus would be reporting back on anything he said or did to Ragnor. It was adorable. “What would you like to drink?”

“A tall glass of you.”

There was a pause and then a snort.

“From that response I think you’ve had enough alcohol for now. How about some water?”

“Alexander, I have a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol. Those were said with me being slightly tipsy at best.” Magnus stated indignantly, his gaze brushing over Alec’s features which were laced with shock. _I should just hurdle over the counter, grab him by the waist and see how it feels to kiss those lips, and then I would - woah, wait a second that is wayyy too soon! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!_

Magnus might need that glass of water after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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